


True Psychic Tales: An Important Mission

by Bigmike33321



Series: Prelude [1]
Category: Psychonauts (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Meantions of past missions, Mild Language, Raz And Lili being cute, Spy Stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28693848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bigmike33321/pseuds/Bigmike33321
Summary: Raz and Lili are assigned a case. Find a girl named Sara Bastille, a run away with a broken past. But why are the Psychonauts so interested in one random girl? Well, because she's psychic of course! But they can't find her. For months they couldn't keep track of her, and now finally when she seems to have settled down in one place, the Psychonauts finally make contact. Seattle, Washington. But why is a girl from the central mid-west states doing all the way on the west coast? A vendetta. Will Raz and Lili make it in time to stop her from doing something she will later regret? Find out now on this issue of True Psychic Tales: An Important Mission!
Relationships: Lili Zanotto & Truman Zanotto, Razputin Aquato & Lili Zanotto, Razputin Aquato/Lili Zanotto
Series: Prelude [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103282
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started working on this a few months ago when I started replaying the original Psychonauts. I'm planning on getting the PSVR to play Rhombus of Ruin soon, if you want to see my gameplay I'll post a link to my youtube channel later. Anyway, got 3 chapters done and this will be a 5 part story. Anyway, enjoy.

**A case for the ages**

The dream started out simple enough. It was a peaceful dream, one of relaxation. I was in a meadow, millions of multicolored flowers as far as the eye can see. I think they were California poppies, and this meadow was a place my parents use to take me. Before… before my life went to shit basically.

My name is Sara. I use to be Sara Bastille, it's French. But I don't want anything to do with my father anymore, so I don't like to use my last name anymore. I use to love him, I still do I guess, but everything changed after mom died. She was murdered, and when I needed him most, he fell apart. Left me to raise myself basically since I was 7 years old. Now I'm 13, he's in jail and I  _ was  _ in the foster care system until recently when I left.

You see, I recently got some information about my mom's case, a name. And that's all I needed. Leaving was easy, I didn't have anything to take with me. Finding the person that fit the name, that took some time. Almost 3 months. Almost 3 months of bus hopping and hitch hiking I made it to Seattle. After asking around, I found an enforcer in the west cost chapter of the mob, Ricky Domico. Then the real work began.

You see, I'm a psychic. My mom was too, it's probably why the mob killed her. She knew dirt on an ex-friend of hers who tried to make certain… advances, towards me when I was a kid. So, she made him go away. And in turn, he took my mom away.

But back to my story, I'm a psychic, it came to me from my mom's side of the family. I can read minds. I can read people's thoughts, and hear their inner voice clear as day as if you were talking directly to me. I can also do other stuff.

I can see shit I'm not suppose to, move shit without touching them, and once I think I even flew. The point is, I'm psychic. And I was having a psychic dream.

Have you ever tried to induce a lucid dream? It's easier as a psychic. And I like to visit this memory in my dream. The details change each atempt. It's a bit hard to remember a memory you experienced when you weren't even 3 years old.

But here I was. Taking a nap and dreaming of happier times. The meadow stretched on endlessly. Farther than my little baby eyes can see. I like coming here to think. To rest my body, even if I can't rest my mind. It's better than losing sleep from my insomnia. I've had it for a while and I read a book to help with it. It didn't. But I might as well rest my body.

So the meadow, we've established that. It's my happy place, or at least a place less miserable than where I physically am right now. Just a place to rest and regroup. But then my dream started to change. A building appeared in the distance. A city skyscraper, appearing like a mirage, gleaming in the sunlight. 

Noting that I am definitely still in control of my dream, I went to it. Once inside, I was in the lobby of what looked like a law office firm. Next to me an elevator dinged and opened. Feeling a bit apprehensive, I entered it. The doors closed and it started to move. I didn't hit a button. And there was no indicator if I was moving up or down or even sideways. Then it opened.

It was like a movie was playing right in front of me. Only I knew it wasn't a movie. More like a window. Through the window in the elevator I saw what looked like a dorm room. Two kids, or maybe teenagers, a boy and a girl were sitting cross legged on the floor. As if they knew I was watching them, they opened their eyes and looked at me.

"Hey," the boy said. "We finally made contact!" He was wearing a turtleneck and brown slacks. He had pale skin, almost yellowish like he was jaundice, and rusty brown hair combed to one side. He almost looked handsome.

"Finally," the girl said. She was wearing sweats, and a tank top. She had red hair in two small pig tails, pale white skin and a nose so narrow it was almost non-existent. Her eyes were also angular. She looked kinda hot.

"Quick, we don't know how long the connection will last, what's your location?" The boy asked.

"Raz, we don't have time for that!" The girl told the boy, Raz.

"I know, but I don't want to scare her into running away again!"

"Ugh," the girl said. "Ok Raz, but hurry up. I can feel her starting to resist."

"I know Lili! Look, Sara," my blood ran cold. I've been so careful to avoid using my real name in fear that the mob found out who I was. "We know who you are and what you've been through. We can help you. We can protect you."

"We know that you're a psychic," Lili said. "We are too. We can help you, even train you. You just have to tell us where you are so we can come and pick you up."

I was silent. I was concentrating on trying to wake up. I can, under no circumstances,  _ not  _ let these kids find out where I am.

"We're losing her Raz," Lili said. "Screw this," she placed two fingers to her temple and I can feel her prodding my mind. 

"Lili!" Raz yelled. 

"Shut up. Shasha and Milla are on assignment somewhere else and my dad entrusted  _ us _ to finish this mission. I'm not about to disappoint him again."

Raz sighed and turned away, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

I couldn't concentrate on just waking up now. I had to keep her out of my head. But concentrating on two things at once was never my strong suite. Against my will, the image of the Seattle skyline came to the forefront of my mind.

"Is that the space needle?" She muttered. "Seattle. That's where you are." She didn't phrase it like a question. She got what she needed. "Look girl, don't leave town. You're in more danger than you can know right now, just stay put and we'll come and get you asap. We'll be there in 8 hours. Just stay  _ put _ !" That last word echoed in my mind, getting louder and louder until I couldn't stand it anymore and fell to my knees in pain.

I woke up in the abandoned department store I was taking refuge in. I had to speed up my timeline. Ricky Domico dies tonight.

**Raz PoV**

"Dang it Lili!" I said when the mental  _ snap _ threw us from Sara's mental projection.

"I know, I'm sorry!" She said, suffering the same effects that I was. "But she was slipping away, we needed the location. And I got it. She's in downtown Seattle. And she's planning something terrible."

I scooted forward and took her hand. "What?"

She looked at me and said something that chilled my blood to the bone. "Murder. She has a vendetta, revenge. If we don't leave right now someone is going to die tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raz and Lili make their way to Seattle to look for Sara. What will they find?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post the next chapter early to give you guys a bit more to look forward too. I'm curringly working on chapter 4 and then finally the 5th and final chapter for this story. Chapter 3 will come near the end of the month. Enjoy

**Sight Seeing**

**Raz PoV**

"This is so stupid, we should have been in the air by now!" Lili said as we were power walking down a hallway that leads to Grand Head Zanotto's office in the motherlobe headquarters. I was currently fixing the pin that displays my Psychonaut rank on my company issued turtle neck.

"I know Lili," I said. "But even you said that your dad is expecting us to follow this case by the book. How's my hair?" We reached a set of wide oak double doors. I ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to fix my helmet hair.

"Here," she came up to me and ran her fingers through. Even with the urgency of the whole situation, it felt incredibly good, and it made a shutter run up and down my spine. "You need to calm down, you dork," Lili laughed. "We both can read each other like a book, you need to get your mind out of the gutter before we go talk to my dad."

"Too late for that," a voice said. The doors open up and Truman Zanotto is sitting at his desk in all his bearded glory. "Your hair looks fine Razputin, and Lili, you should be in uniform too. Now, come in. I sense that you have some distressing news to tell me?"

Lili and I look at each other, I take a deep breath and we both walk in. The doors close behind us on their own, or more actually Truman using TK to shut them. Once we're situated in front of him we stand at attention and relay our report of making contact with Sara and her location. And about her intentions towards a certain individual.

"And that's why we would like to formally request the jet," I concluded. "We believe that she has negative intentions to the person who harmed her family, and while it is understandable, letting her commit a murder would go against the entire purpose of the mission."

"The jet has been requisitioned," Truman said. He was typing away on his computer. Then he looked back to us. "Oleander is gonna be your liaison and handler on this mission. You're cleared to leave in 15 minutes, so go back to your quarters and get anything necessary for your mission. You two are dismissed." We saluted and just as we were about to leave, Truman called out to Lili. "Oh, and dear?"

We stopped and turned around. "Yes dad?"

"You and I need to have a little talk about how you handle these situations. It was a delicate situation and you handled it poorly. Remember to mind yourself on this mission. Our goal is to save her, not frighten her and push her away. Now, dismissed. You have a flight to catch."

  
  


20 minutes later we've reached cruising altitude in the Psychonauts jet. Coach Oleander at the helm as Lili and I lounged on the couch. I put on my bomber jacket and had my aviator helmet and goggles floating in front of me, I used TK to open a cabinet and put them in. We haven't said anything to each other since we left her father's office. But I can tell that what he said to her is on her mind. I don't literally know, she shut me out as soon as we got on the jet.

I couldn't take the silence anymore. "You ok Lili?" I asked. In response she leaned into my shoulder. Automatically I put my arm around her. "What's wrong? You're never this quiet during a mission. And you've  _ never _ kept me out of your head on one."

She sighed and nuzzled into me. "I don't like disappointing my dad," she finally said. "I'm no good with dealing with people, not like you are. But this case is different. She reminds me of, well-"

"A bit like you?" I suggested.

"Yeah," she agreed. "She reminds me of me. And because of the similarities between us I could get a read on her easily. She's hurting so badly. And she's so angry. I just wanted to get to her before she does anything reckless."

"It's fine Lili," I said. I gave her a kiss on the temple. "Your dad will understand once you explain that to him. And hey, even though we're still a bit green, well, I'm yellow, but we're allowed to make mistakes. It's not always gonna be a walk in the park."

She smiled and leaned up to kiss me. "Thanks Raz," she said.

"Eech," Oleander made a reaching sound at the controls. "Enough with the canoodling! I get enough of that with Milla and Sasha! Why don't you maggots get some shut eye. It'll be a little over 6 hours before we reach the west coast."

"Got it coach," I said. "Lemme know if you need me to copilot."

"That's what autopilot is for, kid," was his reply. "Just get some sleep. You both need to be on point for this assignment."

Taking his advice Lili and I sat back and relaxed. She used my chest as a pillow. She let her defenses down for me and we conveyed tiredness to each other. Soon we were asleep, both of us dreaming about relaxing.

  
  


**Seattle, 16:37**

We touched down in a park by the coastline, Oleander put the jet in stealth mode, completely invisible to the regular populous. Once the engines were off, we floated down from the main hatch.

" _ I'll be here manning the coms _ ," Oleander said in our ear pieces. " _ Find some high ground and scan for the targets mental signature. I'm here as support and back up only. From here on it will be radio silent. Only call me for emergancies. Oleander out _ ," the com went dead.

"Well, where can we go to higher ground?" Lili asked. 

"I mean, I could climb a tree," I suggested. "But really, we should just go to the Space Needle."

"Yeah, I know," Lili said, deadpanned. "I was just being sarcastic. Come on, let's find a bus stop. We can get our bearings that way."

A 5 minute walk in a random direction we found a small kiosk where a few people were waiting. We quickly scanned the bus schedule and route map. The map was a squiggly mess of colors and numbers.

"Ok," I said out loud. "What's the fastest way to the Space Needle?"

"Heck if I know," Lili replied. "This bus map makes no sense. We might make it faster by walking." Just then the pitter patter of rain drops. It started to get heavier and heavier by the second. "Well that's just great," she grumbled. "It was sunny 10 seconds ago!"

A lady in her 60's laughed next to us. We turned to her. "First time in Seattle kids?" She asked. We nodded and said yes. "The weather up here is pretty bipolar. Especially in June. Are you two in town for tourist season?"

"Uh, kinda," I said. "We came to town earlier looking for a friend. She… ran away and we're just trying to find her before she gets hurt."

Lili gave me a look. ' _ What are you doing? _ ' She asked in my head.

' _ Relax just play along _ .' I replied. The old woman sighed. "We get so many runaways these days. They seemed attracted to Seattle for some reason. Must be the sea air. Why not go check in at the local police station? Surely they have more information on your friend."

"She wouldn't go to the police," Lili jumped in. "She's… Afraid. Her dad was a policeman and he was a real piece of sh- work," she caught herself at the last second. Better to lay it on thick than to under sell it. "We know her better than anyone, and we think if we get up high enough we'll be able to see a place where she might lay low."

The lady clicked her tounge. "I guess I see your point. My father was a bastard too. Ok, the bus that's coming next is gonna go to the transit station. From there you hop on the L train for cross town express. It should put you near the Space Needle."

"Thank you so much mam!" I said, showing off my best million dollar smile I could muster. "I'm pretty sure I got enough for bus fare." I checked my pockets and pulled out a few crumpled bills and loose change. About $7.27 all together.

"Here, take these," she handed us two poker chips, but on closer inspection they were bus tokens

"Thank you," Lili said, even she was surprised by this lady's kindness.

"It's no trouble. I hope you find your friend, it's rare to have such good friends at your back."

The bus then came around the corner and stopped in front of the kiosk. We thanked the lady one more time and boarded. The ride to the transit station was a calm one, the rain became a gentle shower now, thunder rumbled in the distance. 

' _ What are we gonna do now _ ?' Lili asked me in my head.

' _ Just do our best. We should concentrate on her mental signature while on the train. Get a feel for the city before we get to higher ground _ .'

' _ Sounds as good a plan as any _ .' She sighed. How one could mentally sigh, she can. ' _ I really don't want to mess up this mission, Raz. It's not even about my father anymore, I just don't want to fail Sara. She's so alone, and in so much pain _ .' I took her hand in mine. She laid her head on my shoulder.

' _ It's gonna be fine Lil. We've been in tougher spots before. We just need to get to her before she does anything bad _ .'

Her mind was silent but I could feel my words reassuring her. To anyone on the bus we were just any other ordinary preteen couple, we turn 13 this summer, but to us our relationship goes deeper than what words can say. Even silent ones. We just feel it.

After changing transport at the station, we take the cross town express where we both meditated in total concentration.

We were both concentrating on nothing but Sara. We both caught glimpses of her, flashes of her through other peoples eyes. They were fuzzy and the memories were likely days, or even weeks old. But the farther downtown we went, the stronger these flashes became.

"We're on the right track," I said outload, my voice monotone

"I know Raz, I can feel it too," she said in the same blank voice. We opened our eyes, keeping the mental signature in mind. "We're on the right track," she decided.

Soon we were at our stop, Lili put up her hood to keep her head dry, and I put on my aviator goggles. "We really need to update your wardrobe," Lili said. "It looks like you came out do the 1940's."

"Hey, growing up in the circus all I wore most of the time was leotards and work out clothes. And those were just a ratty tank top and briefs that were hand-me-downs and was 2 sizes too small. This is very comfortable for me."

' _ God I want to see you in that _ !' She thought. I couldn't help myself. I laughed. Hard.

"It's not funny!" She shouted at me and pouted. I just put my arm around her and gave her a kiss on the temple.

"It is," I said. She grumbled but excepted my affection and we kept walking. Soon enough we got to the Space Needle and made our way to the top. 

The view was breath taking. A lot of the other skyscrapers were a lot taller than this one, but there was something about standing on a well known land mark that makes the whole experience special.

Lili and I looked at each other and we silently agreed to start concentrating. We reached out wider than we have on our own before. The only other time we tried something like this was to look for her father at the Rhombus of Ruin 2 years ago. We had the benefit of 3 fully trained and decorated Psychonauts to help amplify our powers. But this is one city, not a whole ocean.

We concentrated on Sara, as tall as me, fair skin, blue eyes, ratty blond hair, and looking like she was sleeping in a rats nest for weeks. We used each others psychic powers to amplify our search, like waves overlapping each other. Soon, we found her.

"Got her!" She said. We opened our eyes and looked at each other. Our first solo mission with very little back up was about to begin for real.

"You saw that too, right?" Lili asked me.

"Yes," I said. "An Italian restaurant,  _ Joey's _ , not too far from here. She's using mental projection to get into some dudes mind."

"Ricky," she said. "When we made contact earlier today, she was thinking of a Ricky. She really hates him."

"Why would she be trying to get inside his mind? And how? With out a brain door it would take weeks to…."

We both realized it at the same time. "She's been stalking him for a while, establishing a mental connection. She's gonna make her move. We need go. Now, Raz!"

With no more words needing to be said, we left.

**Sara PoV**

After months of searching, I finally have him. Working in his cousin's restaurant was a bit cliché, but, it was also the perfect cover. The place was closed on this day due to the pandemic, and he was there to make sure the books were up to date.

That's when I made my move.

Walking through the kitchen and into the back room, unlocking the door to the manager's office was easy with my powers, I find him sitting at the desk going back and forth between the log books and the computer, typing in the information.

The door closes, the sound makes him stop. He turns around in his chair. This is the man. He's about 6 feet tall, ratty brown hair, too small eyes and a permanent scowl. He recognizes me.

"You're about 10 years too early kid," he says. "I don't blame you, I would come after me too. But you don't want to do this. I'm going to give you one chance, walk away now, or die."

I don't answer him. I put one finger to my temple and concentrate on his psyche. His face goes slack after a second. My vison tunnels, it's like I'm zooming in towards his pupils and I feel the world falling down around me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got my elgato capture card and I'm gonna be recording Psychonauts gameplay tomorrow and posting videos next week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raz and Lili are hot on Sara's trail. But will they get there in time before anything drastic happens? Let's find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter at the end of the month, as promised

**Mind of a Butcher**

**Raz PoV**

The restaurant was easy enough just fine. And as soon as we walked in, we knew we hit the target on the nose. One foot in and Sara's mental powers kicked up to 11. Lili and I looked at each other once, and then sprinted through the restaurant and into the back. We came upon a door in the back of the kitchen, through a little window in the door we see Sara standing stock still staring at what I can only assume is Ricky sitting slack jawed in a swivel chair.

"Well that can't be good," Lili said. We took a few steps back so she can use TK to rip the door off its hinges. It fell to our feet. We stepped over the door and into the office.

"At least we don't have to clean up a dead body," I said. "Again."

"We promised to never bring that up!" Lili said.

"Bring what up?" I put a finger to my ear to open up the com channel. "Coach, we found her, but she's astral projecting into someone else's mind. We're gonna go in after her, stand by for back up."

" _ Affirmative _ ," came the Coach's reply. " _ Over and out _ !"

"Well, are you ready?" I asked Lili. Digging into my pocket I bring out a small door.

"Yep. Let's just keep things low key while we're in there. We don't need another emergency lobotomy on our hands again."

"We promised to never bring that up again!"

"Bring what up?" She took the door from my hand and levitated it to Ricky's forehead. The door opened to a brilliant white light. I could feel myself separating from my body as my psyche floated in towards the light. Lili not far behind me. The door shut behind us and we were in.

**Sara PoV**

The inside of Ricky's mind was a mix between a strip club and his cousin's restaurant. Scantily clad faceless women danced around poles, some topless, some completely naked. This is how this pig see's women, I'm gonna enjoy burning him from this world so much more.

But first I have a job to do. I need that list.

I guess I should explain. You see, Ricky wasn't the only one in on my mom's death. He was the one to pull the trigger, but he was also ordered. My mom's friend died in prison a few years ago, so I have to go after his whole group. One trigger man, being told what to do by a number of bosses. They all planned my mother's death, so they all have to pay. I just need those names.

As I passed the VIP section, which was just a room dedicated to an all woman orgy, I had to fight a bunch of little guys in suites with giant red stamps. Punching them felt satisfying, and I even managed to levitate a few of them into their buddies. But my fire was for Ricky himself.

After finishing off the little guys, the orgy ongoing despite the violence, I headed up some stairs that literally  _ poofed _ into existence. Going upstairs and I'm in another manager's office. This guy sure thinks highly of himself.

The office was huge, this room was the size of my old house with my dad, and that house was huge. Various trophies of life sized naked women were scattered haphazardly across the room. Ricky himself was sitting at a desk, but it was giant. And by giant, I mean  _ giant _ . The desk was a good 10 feet across and 30 feet high. The rat bastard himself was over 50 feet tall, dressed in a very fine pin-stripped suit probably made of Italian silk, his hair was neatly combed and his beard trimmed in a pattern that reminded me of this one guy from the Hunger Games movie. He  _ really _ thinks highly of himself.

"Well well," he said. His voice is the same, but steady and firm. Not like his real life voice which had a slight waiver to it, like every breath out of his mouth was a bluff. "You finally come after me after all this time. The last time I saw you was-"

"A day before you killed my mom," I said. "You came by to say sorry about Jeffery coming onto me when I was 7. The next day she has a bullet in her head while she's sitting in her car not even 10 minutes from her house. No witnesses to the killing. Just random people hearing a random car backfire. No one knew it was you. Until 3 months ago when I read into the mind of the officer handling her case. He comes by to see me in foster care every now and then. And the one name he found was yours. Richard Domico, aka, 'Ricky the Man'"

Giant Ricky gave me a slow clap, asshole.

"You certainly are the young detective your mother was. Do you want to know why she has friends on the mob? Why was there immediate retaliation against her? Even for a scumbag like Jeffery?"

"Ok, I'll bite," I said playing along. "Why was my mom involved with the mob?"

"Because she wasn't just  _ involved _ with us. She  _ was _ with us. She was the top enforcer to The Boss. She could do things that would make you wet the bed at night, she would sit in on every single meeting, tell who was lying and who wasn't. And who to punish for disloyalty."

I was silent. I was actually wondering  _ why  _ my mom had ties to the mob. But to actually find out that she was in the mob herself, is jarring to say the least.

“What’s more than that, she carried out our hits as well. I had the same job as her, but she was our queen when it came to the job.”

“I’m going to extract what I need from your mind now,” I said, absolutely done with this convoration. I’ve always wondered why my mom had any connection with the mob, and I always wondered what rank she had. Having my fears confirmed doesn’t really change what job I need to do, or my view on my mom. She did what she had to and she protected me right up until the very end. Now I need to finish it.

I put a hand up to my head, two fingers connected to my temple. Immediately papers and various small objects start flying around the office as if a tornado had started up. 

“What are you doing?” I ignored him and concentrated harder. More stuff started to get sucked up into the whirlwind. “Stop it! You’re messing up the funk-sway in the room!”

“Fuck your funk-sway!” I yelled and began to tear apart the walls. I put my other hand on my head in an effort to concentrate harder. After a particularly hard tug at something in the wall when I tried to rip that section out, I knew I found what I was looking for. “There you are,” I opened my eyes, and concentrated on the spot I couldn’t move. The whirlwind stopped, the random junk fell to the ground. Imagining a rope and hook attached to the wall, I yanked hard and pulled a section of the wall out to reveal a hidden safe. “I almost have what I came for,” I said, feeling slightly exhausted, but I have enough energy to pry open that safe. And then finish off the murdering bastard when I get what I came for.

“You need to stop this, right now!” Ricky shouted. He got up, and with one massive heave he shoved his desk across the room where it smashed into pieces against the wall. “You die now!”

He came lumbering at me, his perfect hair now a rats nest from the wind storm I conjured up. But before he could take 2 steps, the door to the office blew off its hinges.

“You better not have gotten all hot and bothered from those hussies Raz!” A girl's voice shouted from the dust.

“I can’t help it, Lil!” A boy's voice replied. “All of them were just… there! Hanging out!”

“You do know that all of that stuff isn’t real right? That it’s fake?” She sounded annoyed. He sounded embarrassed.

“I know,” he said. The dust cleared and there they were. The boy and girl from my dream. He’s wearing a vintage styled aviator jacket and helmet complete with goggles. Under that was a sweater and simple blue jeans and black converse. The girl is pale as death with deep red hair, tied in long skinny twin tails. She’s wearing a green hoodie over a simple red dress, styled al- Star vs the Forces of Evil style, complete with red and black striped leggings and combat boots.

“I just can’t help but think about it, I’m a curious guy after all,” he finished his statement.

“Whatever,” the girl replied. “Let’s just finish this up quick, Raz. The more people in his untrained mind the greater chance we can damage him.”

“I know, Lil,” the boy, Raz, said. “But we need to make sure we can safely extract the asset we came for before making a quick exit. Speaking of which.” Raz turned to look at me.

The girl, Lil, said, “Hi Sara, we haven’t officially met yet, but I’m Lili Zonato, and this is my boyfriend Razputin-”

“How’s it going?” Raz input.

“You might not believe us, but we’re here to help you. I’m sorry about what happened yesterday when we tried to contact you, but you have to understand. We’ve been trying to find you for months. You’ve left a big trail of breadcrumbs and the Psychonauts aren’t the only ones to get on your trail. We just want to help.”

“We might not know what you’re going through,” Raz said. “But we can try to understand if you let us help you. Killing him isn’t going to make things right, and you will have blood on your hands, like him. We’ve researched him and his whole organization. The Psychonauts can take them all out, by the book, so no more blood is spilled. So that no more cases like your mom ever happen again. Will you let us help you?”

We were still for a few minutes, the tension palpable in the air. I was angry beyond words, angry at Ricky for killing my mom, angry at that pedophile cumstain who was perving on me when he had no business being around me, angry at these kids who keep sticking their noses where it doesn’t belong, and mostly I’m angry at my mom for dying and leaving me alone. And just like that, I didn’t want to kill Ricky anymore. I didn’t want to stoop to his level. Before I could voice any of this, Ricky stood up to his full height. And shrunk down to a more human height, but he was still over 6 feet tall.

“Well, if this isn’t touching?” he said, a sneer on his face. “But that’s gone on long enough. You two, you were right about one thing, I can’t handle this many minds inside me for long, I’ll go brain dead or worse. Working with Carmen Bastille has strengthened my mind, however, so I think I can spend this time tearing your minds apart!”

He floated in the air, a bright light flashed from inside him, blinding all of us. When the light cleared Ricky Domico was a monster. Literally.

Floating in the air was a  _ thing _ that still has Ricky’s face, but that’s where the similarities to being a human ends. His skin became a sickly purple color, like a fresh bruise, horns portruted from just inside his hairline, he grew two extra arms that came out from his rib cage, his hair grew and was tied in a top knot. He became a demon, one that preys on innocent people. And with that I made my decision. 

“Ok, I don’t know who the fuck you two are or who the fuck you two are with,” I said pointing at them. “But I know when I’m in over my head. You help me get what I need from this guy and I’ll do everything your guyses way. Deal?”

“Deal,” Lili said. She and Raz got into a battle stance, with both of them having fingers up to their temples. “I’m guessing whatever you need is in there,” she inclined her head towards the safe. “Alright then, you crack that, we’ll handle the monster.”

“ _ Monster _ ,” Ricky mused. His voice gravelly and distorted slightly. “ _ Yes, monster describes me perfectly. I’ve murdered, sold people as slaves, and tore apart families. I am a monster who kills and needs to be killed. Tell me children, will you be heroes and slay this beast? _ ”

“No,” Raz said, and shot a beam of light at Ricky that exploded and made him fall to the ground. “But we’ll still stomp you!” He and Lili lept into battle and I ran to the safe and started to work my magic on the lock. With the bulk of Ricky’s mind occupied with a fight, his defenses on safeguarding whatever information he’s hiding from me will be down. And I can get what I came for.

**3rd person PoV**

The battle was long. Ok, not really. With two psychonauts agents battling someone with mental defenses so mediocre it was almost child's play for the two children. Raz and Lily jumped and shot psiblasts, levitated random debris and even set Ricky’s top knot on fire. All in all, they were kicking ass. Sara was at the safe’s door, using her mind to telekinetically turn the dial ever so carefully while feeling for the right combinations. The noise of the battle might have just been white noise. Her eyes were closed in concentration, her expression one of complete serenity, an arm extended towards the safe door as the dial spun on its own. After a few minutes, she got the right combination and her eyes snapped open.

Reaching forward, she grabbed the handle, and twisted and threw the door open. Inside was a single sheet of paper. The list of names that she was looking for. “Finally,” she said. She took the page with shaking hands. She quickly read through the list and it disappeared. Most of the names she knew.

“Those rat bastard mother fuckers!” She yelled. There was a scream behind her. She turned to see that demon Ricky had Lili in his giant meaty hand. She was struggling but couldn’t do much more than wiggle her shoulders. 

“Lili!” Raz shouted. He ran up to them and was getting ready to psiblast Ricky’s hand, but. 

“ _ Too late kid! _ ” he squeezed his hand and Lily’s form fizzled and dissolved before exploding in static. “ _ W-what!? _ ”

“Oh my god,” Sara said. “He killed her!”

“ _ Where is all the blood and guts!? That’s the best part! _ ”

“Don’t worry,” Raz said, looking back at Sara. “Her astral projection was just destabilized and knocked back out. She’s probably back in her body by now. Which means that we need to finish up here before we go back out. You got what you came for?”   
Sara ran up and took up a stance next to Raz. “Y-yeah. I got the list. How do we get out of here now? He’s not letting me!”   
“We need to beat him,” Raz said. “Me and Lily already wore him down, let’s just finish him.”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Ricky said. “ _ Time to finish this. _ ”

He ran towards them, and stuck out his hand trying to grab one to destroy. Raz jumped out of the way and levitated around psiblasting at Ricky. Sara ran to the left and picked up a piece of desk and threw it at his head. A piece struck him in the eye and he yelled out in pain, covering his face. Raz floated down and set a fire at his feet.

“ _ Oww! _ ” Ricky wailed. “ _ You kids are really starting to piss me off! Now just be a good little girl and just die like your mother! _ ” 

Sara’s eyes narrowed. She raised her hands and they glowed as psi-energy condensed into a ball on each hand. “You know what, Ricky the Rat?”

“ _ It’s Ricky the  _ Man _ , get it right! _ ”

“Yeah, I don’t care. So you can go and fuck yourself!” She shot a double psiblast straight at Ricky’s head, where they exploded, knocking him into the wall where he got knocked out. Ricky fell to the floor and was human again, wearing nothing but his black briefs.

Sara and Raz stood panting as the adrenaline died down in their systems.

“W-wow,” Raz said. He turned to Sara. “You’re powerful, girl! You’re probably stronger than me, how were you able to hide from, well, anyone for so long?”

Sara huffed and said, “It wasn’t easy. Thanks for the back up here, but how are we gonna get out of here?”

“Easy,” Raz walked over to Sara and placed a hand on her shoulder. “This is gonna feel weird, but,” he put his fingers to his temple. The world started to fade around them and then they were back in their bodies, blinking in the new light.

“Wow, I feel like I’m gonna vomit,” Sara said, squeezing her stomach.

“Speak for yourself,” Lili said. She was sitting in the corner, a trash bin next to her with some sick splattered on the lip of it as she was massaging her temples. “I feel like I got trampled by a herd of elephants, set on fire, and then trampled again to put the fire out. How’s Ricky?”

They turned to see him slumped in his office chair, snoring away. “I guess this is… mission accomplished!” Raz said. He turned to Sara. “This  _ is _ mission accomplished, right? You’re not gonna run again? The Psychonauts can make sure Ricky pays for his crimes. It’s not normally a matter they get their hands dirty on, but they can make an exception when we make our case.”

Sara was quiet. After years of imagining her mothers murderer at her feet, and now that he is, she just wants to get as far away as she possibly could. She got what she came for, and now she can make Ricky pay for what he did. 

“Yes,” She said finally. “Yes, you can do what you want with him. I got the other names, and I can begin to dismantle their entire operation.” He turned to them. “If I agree to join you, can you help me take them all out?”

Lili and Raz looked over at each other. A silent conversation was just relayed between them with just one look. “We’ll see,” Raz finally said. “It’s not a decision we can make on our own. We can only promise you that if you work with the Psychonauts, the Psychonauts will work with you.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Sara said. “So what do we do with this piece of crap? Call the cops? I’m pretty sure there’s enough dirty money or something dirty hidden somewhere in here that can be used to put him away. Probably his cousin too.”

“Nah,” Lili said. “That’ll take too much time. We have people that can speed it up. Raz, mind calling our back up? I have a major headache.”

“Sure thing, sweety,” he replied.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sure thing, sweety,” he put his fingers to his ear and spoke out loud. “Coach, we got the asset. Plus one in custody. Mind coming in for evac and can you call in a cleaner team? We want to make sure that this one has a nice tight noose for a judge to hang him with. No it was a figure of speech, we’re not gonna stage a suicide again!” Sara looked to Lily in surprise. She made a gesture that said,  _ don’t ask _ .

“Yes Coach. See you soon.” He put his fingers down and turned back towards the girls. “Evac E.T.A. in 3 minutes. Let’s be outside by then. Can you walk Lili?”

“Yeah,” she got up on shaky legs. “I’ll be fine, hey!” Raz came and took her arm and put it around his shoulders. He grabbed her waist with one hand. “Watch where you put that hand of yours buster if you don’t want 3rd degree burns!”

Raz laughed. “Reminds me of our 6th grade formal. You still have that dress?”

“Nope, burned it the morning after.”

“Shame, I liked that color on you. Maybe we can get a new one that’s more your style?”

“Yeah, maybe,” She leaned into Raz’s shoulder and they began hobbling out of the office. Sara watched the whole exchange with a blush on her dirty face. Then she smiled. These two were cute together without having to try. A little annoying, she thinks, but maybe they can be good friends.

She follows the couple outside. The rain had stopped, it was dark now. They stood outside waiting, taking in the brisk air to cool down from the intense mental battle they all just had. Soon enough a strong wind came out of nowhere as a jet materialized out of thin air, hovering over and then landed in the street in front of them. What few passersby that were still on the street stopped to gawk, then walk on as if this was a daily occurrence. Which probably was. Seattle is weird.

“Is… is this the Psychonauts?” Sara asked, the awe evident in her voice.

“This is just a small taste of it,” Raz said. He and Lili hobbled towards the jet. “You want to see the rest?”

Sara smiled. “Do I ever,” and she ran towards them and waited for them to hover into the hatch and then almost lost her lunch as an invisible force lifted her up into the jet. The plane’s engines turned on and began to rise into the air. The last thing Sara saw on the street before they took off was a group of black cars coming down the street, no doubt the cleaners that Raz mentioned to clean up and apprehend Rick the Man, aka, the now trapped rat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is on it's way. Chapter 5 should be done by valentines day, hopfully.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading. This will be part one in a multi part series. The series is gonna be called... Prelude. But a prelude to what? Well.... Ever hear about a group of kids who solve mysteries? Well, these aren't your average Scooby-Doo wanna be's. These will be the Mystery Kids.


End file.
